Funeral services set for Chicago police officer John Bartholomew, killed in Swedish Hospital shooting
Funeral services for fallen Chicago police officer John Bartholomew, who was fatally shot at Swedish Hospital last weekend, have been set for next week at a church in the Edgewater neighborhood.
Visitation will be held from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Thursday, May 7, at St. Andrew's Greek Orthodox Church, at 5649 N. Sheridan Rd.
Bartholomew's funeral will be held at 10 a.m. on Friday, May 8, also at St. Andrew's, followed by a private burial service.
Church leaders said Barthlomew learned the meaning of service from a young age inside St. Andrew's.
"This is not just a loss of our own Greek American or Orthodox Christian community, this is a loss for the entire city of Chicago," said His Eminence Metropolitan Nathanael of Chicago, who leads the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Chicago, and will lead the funeral services.
St. Andrew's is the same church where Barthlomew's grandfather was a priest.
"I encourage people to remember that there's a real person behind the badge," Nathanael said. "He was a man who was extremely generous; generous of his time, his talent, and even his treasure."
The man accused of shooting and killing Bartholomew was back in court on Thursday, where he interrupted proceedings at least three times before a judge ordered him to remain in jail while he awaits trial.
Prosecutors have said, after 26-year-old Alphonso Talley was arrested for robbing and pistol whipping a Family Dollar employee on Saturday, he told officers that he swallowed drugs and need medical help. Once inside Swedish Hospital, he allegedly pulled out a gun from beneath a blanket, shot Bartholomew and his partner, and then stole a hospital worker's badge to escape. Talley was arrested in a nearby backyard.
After the shooting, Bartholomew and his partner were taken to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, where Bartholomew was pronounced dead. His partner remained hospitalized on Thursday, but his condition has improved, and he has been up and alert, and able to respond to questions using body cues.
Chicago Fraternal Order of Police President John Catanzara was asked Thursday if a failed search of the suspect led to the shooting.
"Nobody knows what happened with that gun. Nobody knows if it was tucked in a fat fold or it was tucked inside his body," Catanzara said. "I don't know that we'll ever have that answer, because he's certainly not a believable character to explain where it was. But, the reality is, if it was inside his body, no amount of searches would have ever found that without a full cavity search, which we do not do."
Catanzara said officers are reluctant to be aggressive about searching suspects because of complaints about misconduct.
Talley is charged with first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder in the shooting, along with several other felony charges related to the shooting and earlier robbery.
